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THE  BUND  BANDURA  PLAYER 


THE 


ILYA  REPIN 

EXHIBITION 


INTRODUCTION 

AND  CATALOGUE  OF  THE  PAINTINGS 
By 

Dr.  CHRISTIAN  BRINTON 


HELD  AT  THE 

KINGORE  GALLERIES 

NEW  YORK  CITY 


FIRST  IMPRESSION,  THREE  THOUSAND  COPIES 
COPYRIGHT,  1921,  BY"  CHRISTIAN  BRINTON 


REDFIELD-KENDRICK-ODELL  COMPANY,  NEW  YORK 


INTRODUCTION 


Photograph  by  Rents  and  Schrader,  Petrograd. 


( Collection  of  Dr.  Christian  Brinton ) 


ILYA  YEFIMOVICH  REPIN 


ILYA  REPIN  IN  HIS  STUDIO 


INTRODUCTION 

By  Dr.  CHRISTIAN  BRINTON 
Le  beau,  c’est  la  vie. 

Despite  his  rich  imaginative  endowment,  a poignant  sense 
of  actuality  is  the  birthright  of  each  and  every  Russian.  Those 
restless  wanderers  who  started  from  Galicia  and  the  upper 
Dnyepr,  who  founded  Kiev,  Novgorod  the  Great,  and  Moscow, 
and  settled  the  fertile  basin  of  the  Volga,  were  not  theorists. 
The  intrepid  traders  who  in  turn  pushed  across  the  Urals  and 
penetrated  the  silent  forests  and  frozen  marshes  of  Siberia  were 
not  impelled  by  abstract  ideas,  by  the  pious  frenzy  of  the  Crusad- 


ers,  for  instance,  but  by  simple  reasons  of  race  pressure.  From 
the  outset,  in  brief,  the  Russ  has  been  brought  face  to  face  with 
the  severest  conditions,  external  and  internal.  He  has  always 
been  a subject  and  a sufferer.  Now  overrun  by  the  ruthless 
yellow  hordes  of  the  Great  Khans,  and  now  sterilized  by  the 
ritual  of  Byzantine  priest,  the  true  Slavic  spirit  has  had  little 
scope  for  individual  development. 

When  the  Mongol  yoke  was  at  length  broken  by  the  Grand 
Princes  of  Moscow,  the  situation  remained  much  as  before. 
Oppression  still  existed,  only  it  came  from  within,  not  from 
without.  The  people  no  longer  paid  tribute  to  a khan,  they 
bowed  to  the  tzar,  a creature  almost  as  Asiatic  and  as  autocratic. 
Down  to  the  present  time,  in  fact,  matters  have  continued  with 
but  slight  alleviation.  Though  there  were  liberator  tzars  as  well  as 
demoniac  tyrants  on  the  imperial  throne,  progress  has  remained 
dubious  and  intermittent.  The  beneficient  humanity  of  Alexan- 
der II  was  succeeded  by  the  drastic  reactionary  policy  of  von 
Plehve  and  Pobiedonostsev.  Each  step  forward  seems  to  have 
been  offset  by  a corresponding  step  backward.  The  Tatar 
spearman  gave  way  to  the  Cossack  with  his  knout.  And  the 
blue  banner  of  Jinghis  Khan  has  been  replaced  by  the  red 
badge  of  revolution  and  a reversion  to  the  most  sinister  forms 
of  despotism. 

Of  all  epochs  in  the  spiritual  evolution  of  Russia,  the  most 
inspiring  from  the  standpoint  of  nationalism  are  the  memorable 
years  that  followed  the  liberation  of  the  serfs  in  1861.  It  was 
at  this  period  that  the  great,  passionate  publicist  Ghernyshevsky, 
turning  from  Teutonic  abstractions  to  Russian  actuality,  pro- 
nounced the  dictum  that  Beauty  is  Life,  and  it  was  at  this  time 


also  that  came  into  being  the  aspiring  organization  known  as 
Land  and  Freedom — Zemlya  i Volya.  The  atmosphere  was 
charged  with  hope  and  anticipation.  Radiant  ideas  of  progress 
permeated  all  classes  of  society.  On  every  side  were  signs  of 
regeneration,  of  a vast  political  and  social  awakening. 

In  the  comparatively  tardy  development  of  contemporary 
cultural  expression  in  Russia,  the  novel  and  the  play  preceded 
the  graphic  and  plastic  arts.  For  long  periods  the  painter  was 
crushed  beneath  archaic  formalism  and  sterile  academic  prece- 
dent, just  as  in  the  broader  relations  of  life  all  healthy,  spon- 
taneous initiative  was  repressed  by  influences  wholly  artificial 
and  foreign.  While  it  is  a matter  of  record  that  Gogol  actually 
paved  the  way  for  such  masters  of  domestic  genre  as  Sternberg, 
Fedotov,  and  Perov,  and  that  Turgenev  was  among  the  earliest 
to  appreciate  the  elegiac  beauty  of  native  Russian  landscape, 
it  matters  little  which  came  first,  and  which  after.  The  chief 
point  is  that  from  this  period  onward  each  strove  to  depict  with 
increasing  fidelity  not  only  the  actual  physiognomy  of  the  coun- 
try itself,  but  that  confused  and  questing  human  equation 
that  lay  just  at  hand  waiting  to  be  understood  and  interpreted. 

With  that  passion  for  absolutism  so  typical  of  the  Slavic  mind, 
it  is  scant  wonder  that  the  emancipation  of  art  should  follow 
rapidly  upon  the  liberation  of  the  serfs.  On  November  9,  1863, 
under  the  magnetic  leadership  of  Kramskoy,  thirteen  of  the 
ablest  students  of  the  Imperial  Academy  of  Fine  Arts  rebelled 
against  soulless  officialism,  left  the  institution,  and  formed 
themselves  into  an  independent  body.  The  little  band  of  aspir- 
ants struggled  dubiously  along  for  a time,  but  was  later  strong- 
enough  to  establish  the  Peredvizhnaya  Vystavka,  or  Society  of 


Travelling  Exhibitions.  And  it  is  to  this  group,  with  its 
hatred  of  classic  and  mythological  themes,  and  its  frank  love 
of  national  and  local  type  and  scene,  that  Russian  painting 
owed  its  subsequent  vitality.  It  was  this  clear-eyed,  open- 
minded  band  of  enthusiasts  who  first  made  it  possible  for  the 
Slavic  artist  to  “go  among  the  people,”  to  harken  to  the  secret 
song  of  the  steppe.  Their  passionate  nationalism  assuredly 
exceeded  their  artistic  sensibility,  yet  one  must  never  forget 
that  they  came  into  being  during  a vigorously  realistic  and 
utilitarian  epoch,  an  epoch  that  witnessed  the  publication  of 
Pisarev’s  amazing  Annihilation  of  Aesthetics  and  similar  dia- 
tribes against  the  formal  canons  of  abstract  beauty.  Le  beau , 
c’est  la  vie,  was  in  fact  by  some  amended  to  read,  Le  laid, 
c'est  le  beau. 

Early  one  grey  November  morning  nearly  sixty  years  ago, 
there  knocked  at  the  portals  of  the  Imperial  Academy  of  Fine 
Arts  in  the  city  by  the  Neva,  a young  Cossack  from  the  Govern- 
ment of  Kharkov.  He  was  pale  and  shy  of  manner,  with  thick 
masses  of  brown  hair  clustering  about  brow  and  ears,  and  under 
his  arm  carried  a portfolio  of  sketches.  The  lad  had  journeyed 
all  the  way  from  Chuguyev,  an  isolated  village  amid  the  steppes 
of  Little  Russia,  his  entire  capital  consisting  of  forty  rubles, 
and  a consuming  desire  to  become  a painter.  Born  July  24, 
1844,  the  son  of  a martial  father  and  a gentle,  solicitous  mother, 
Ilya  Yefimovich  Repin  early  displayed  marked  capacity  for 
graphic  and  plastic  expression.  Whilst  a mere  child  he  used  to 
draw  pictures  for  his  sister  and  her  playmates,  as  well  as  cut 
figures  out  of  cardboard  and  model  animals  in  wax.  Though 
delicate,  he  was  sent  to  the  communal  school, 'where  his  mother 


was  a teacher,  and  later  attended  the  near-by  Topographical 
Institute,  but  on  the  closing  of  the  latter,  he  was  apprenticed  at 
the  age  of  thirteen  to  Bunakov,  a local  painter  of  sacred  images. 

So  rapid  was  the  boy’s  progress  that  within  three  years  he  was 
able  to  support  himself,  receiving  anywhere  from  two  to  five, 
and  even  as  high  as  twenty  rubles  for  a religious  composition 
or  the  likeness  of  some  worthy  villager.  Pious  muzhiks  and 
pompous  rural  dignitaries  would  come  from  a hundred  versts 
or  more  to  see  his  ikoni  or  secure  his  services  as  ecclesiastical 
decorator,  the  most  famous  of  his  efforts  being  a fervid  and 
dramatic  St.  Simeon.  It  was  while  working  in  the  church  of 
Sirotin  that  Repin  first  heard  of  the  eager,  ambitious  life  of  the 
capital,  with  its  opportunities  so  far  beyond  the  limitations  of 
provincial  endeavour.  Certain  of  his  colleagues  told  him  not 
only  of  the  Academy,  but  of  Kramskoy,  the  leader  of  the  new 
movement,  who  had  lately  paid  a visit  to  Ostrogorsk,  bringing 
with  him  the  atmosphere  of  the  city  and  the  ferment  of  fresh 
social  and  artistic  ideas. 

When,  at  nineteen,  Repin  stood  within  the  temple  of  art 
on  the  Vasilyevski  Ostrov,  he  realized  that  he  must  begin  anew, 
that  much  he  had  so  laboriously  learned  by  himself  must  be 
put  aside.  Instead  of  entering  the  Academy  directly,  he  spent 
a year  in  preliminary  preparation,  subsisting  meanwhile  in  the 
most  precarious  fashion,  for  his  financial  resources  were  pitiably 
slender.  In  due  course  at  the  house  of  a mutual  friend  he  met 
his  idol,  Kramskoy,  whom  he  found  to  be  a dark,  meagre  man 
with  deep-set,  devouring  eyes,  who  always  arrayed  himself  in 
a long  black  redingote.  Kramskoy  displayed  immediate  inter- 
est in  the  young  provincial’s  work,  and  often  asked  him  to  his 


home  where  he  would  expound  the  gospel  of  reality  with  burning 
conviction.  The  following  autumn  Repin  entered  the  Academy, 
naturally  finding  its  scholastic  routine  cold  and  listless  beside 
the  vigorous,  salutary  creed  of  his  former  preceptor. 

Although  he  remained  six  years  at  the  Academy,  Repin  was 
never  in  sympathy  with  its  ideals,  nor  did  he  palpably  succumb 
to  its  traditions.  Beyond  everything  he  strove  to  attain  verity 
of  vision  and  rendering.  The  grip  of  the  actual  was  already 
strong  upon  him,  the  potency  of  things  seen  and  sincerely  re- 
corded exercised  its  own  imperative  appeal.  So  conspicuous  was 
the  young  Cossack’s  talent  that  in  1869  he  was  awarded  the 
small  gold  medal,  and  the  following  term,  for  his  Raising  of 
Jairus’s  Daughter,  he  obtained  the  grand  gold  medal  and  a 
travelling  scholarship.  The  summer  after  winning  his  academic 
laurels  he  went  on  a sketching  trip  down  the  Volga,  an  event 
which,  more  than  anything,  served  to  open  his  eyes  to  that 
sovereign  beauty  of  nature  and  sorrowful  lot  of  man  which  so 
long  constituted  his  chief  inspiration.  And  on  his  return,  boldly 
and  without  compromise,  Ilya  Repin,  at  six-and-twenty,  pro- 
ceeded to  paint  from  a series  of  first-hand  studies,  the  initial 
masterpiece  of  the  modern  Russian  realistic  school. 

Unless  you  chance  to  be  familiar  with  the  Russian  art  of  the 
day,  it  is  difficult  to  grasp  the  distance  which  separates  the 
Bargemen  of  the  Volga  from  that  which  went  before.  At  one 
stroke  the  clear-eyed  Cossack  placed  himself  at  the  head  of  the 
new  movement.  He  went  direct  to  nature  and  character,  not 
to  the  arid  formalism  of  academic  tradition.  The  general  effect 
of  the  canvas  is  compelling  in  its  sheer  veracity  of  observation 
and  statement.  The  composition  is  effective,  the  various  types 


are  accurately  individualized,  and  about  these  sun-scorched 
burlaki,  who  sullenly  pull  on  the  same  sagging  tow-line,  radiates 
the  genuine  light  of  the  out  of  doors,  not  the  bituman  and  brown 
sauce  of  the  galleries.  While  it  is  impossible  to  overlook  the 
fact  that  the  Bargemen  of  the  Volga  is  what  the  Teutons  call 
a Tenclenzbild — a picture  with  a purpose — yet  it  cannot  be  said 
that  the  didactic  or  humanitarian  elements  outvalue  the  pic- 
torial appeal.  Imbued  with  a certain  deep-rooted  pity  for  the 
downtrodden,  the  painting  stands  upon  its  own  merits  as  a 
resolute  example  of  realism.  The  artist’s  triumph  was  in  fact 
complete,  and  his  fame  as  sudden  and  widespread  as  that  of 
the  young  officer  who,  years  before,  had  penned  with  searching 
verity  The  Cossacks  and  Sevastopol  Sketches. 

Whilst  his  Burlaki  was  being  exhibited  in  Petrograd  and 
Vienna,  where  it  created  a sensation  at  the  International  Exhibi- 
tion of  1873,  Repin  had  already  begun  that  sojourn  abroad 
which,  though  it  helped  to  mature  his  artistic  powers,  only 
served  to  intensify  his  love  for  his  native  land.  The  European 
museums,  with  their  remote,  scholastic  appeal,  held  no  message 
for  his  objective,  nature-loving  temperament.  He  succumbed 
neither  to  the  eloquent  antiquity  of  Rome  nor  to  the  gracious 
animation  of  Paris.  While  he  enjoyed  the  ferment  of  cafe  and 
street  life,  he  could  never  quite  forget  those  shabby,  smoke- 
filled  student  rooms  where  political  and  artistic  problems  were 
discussed  with  passionate  fervour,  nor  those  great  stretches  of 
waving  plume  grass,  blending  with  the  distant,  low-lying  hori- 
zon. He  did  not  in  fact  produce  much  during  his  stay  abroad. 
The  only  work  of  consequence  to  come  from  his  brush  at  this 
period  was  a touching  bit  of  symbolistic  fancy  entitled  Sadko 


in  the  Wonder-realm  of  the  Deep,  in  which  the  young  painter- 
exile  seems  to  have  suggested  his  own  loneliness  and  home- 
longing. There  proved  in  truth  to  be  a prophetic  note  to  the 
picture,  for  the  artist  actually  returned  to  Russia  before  his 
allotted  time  had  expired,  having,  like  Sadko  himself,  hearkened 
to  the  call  of  Chernavushka,  the  appealing  embodiment  of  the 
Slavic  race  spirit. 

Once  back  amid  the  scene  of  his  early  activities,  Repin  de- 
voted his  unflagging  energy  to  furthering  the  cause  of  native 
artistic  expression.  Thoroughly  in  sympathy  with  the  avowedly 
humanitarian  and  nationalistic  spirit  of  the  day,  he  naturally 
cast  his  lot  with  the  Peredvizhniki,  or  Wanderers,  in  which 
organization  he  became  a dominant  figure.  At  first  he  settled 
in  Moscow,  but  later  moved  to  Petrograd,  where  he  shortly 
accepted  a professorship  in  the  reorganized  Academy  which, 
under  the  vice-presidency  of  Count  Ivan  Tolstoy,  gathered 
back  into  the  fold  certain  of  the  former  recalcitrants.  Faithful 
as  he  was  to  his  duties  as  preceptor,  Repin  did  not,  however, 
sacrifice  his  position  as  a painter,  and  for  diversity  of  theme, 
vigour  of  presentation,  and  fidelity  to  fact,  few  artists  have 
excelled  the  succession  of  canvases  which  he  forthwith  began 
to  offer  an  enthralled  public.  Year  after  year  each  painting  was 
in  turn  hailed  as  the  evangel  of  actuality  or  greeted  as  an  elo- 
quent evocation  of  the  past.  At  times  an  almost  ascetic  severity 
of  tone  would  tinge  his  palette,  but  perhaps  the  very  next  work 
would  reveal  a Byzantine  richness  of  costume,  the  gleam  of 
jewels,  and  the  glint  of  polished  metal.  Though  he  would  often, 
as  did  his  colleagues  Vasnetzov  and  Surikov,  glance  backward 
across  the  surging  centuries  for  some  picturesque  setting,  yet 


never,  after  prentice  clays,  did  he  choose  a subject  that  was  not 
thoroughly  Muscovite.  Whatever  else  it  may  have  been,  the 
art  of  Repin  was,  and  continued  throughout  his  career,  essen- 
tially nationalistic  in  aim  and  appeal. 

It  is  absorbing  to  follow  from  canvas  to  canvas  the  unfolding 
of  Repin’s  pictorial  power.  His  method  is  the  reverse  of  im- 
pressionism. His  principal  works  are  not  the  result  of  a single, 
swift  transcription  of  something  vividly  seen  or  spontaneously 
apprehended.  They  are  the  outcome  of  prolonged  study  and 
adjustment.  As  many  as  a hundred  preliminary  sketches  were 
made  for  The  Cossacks’  Reply,  of  which,  during  an  interval 
of  some  ten  years,  he  painted  three  separate  versions.  The 
theme  in  fact  haunted  him  in  the  same  manner  as  the  great 
romanticist  Bocklin  lived  for  so  long  under  the  spell  of  his  Island 
of  the  Dead.  Repin  has  never  been  satisfied  with  the  result  of 
his  efforts.  He  constantly  strives  to  attain  more  effective  group- 
ing and  arrangement,  and  more  eloquent  colouristic  power. 
While  based  upon  direct  observation,  the  larger  realistic  and 
historical  compositions  appear  to  assume  their  final  form  in 
response  to  some  inner  pictorial  necessity. 

Although  many  of  Repin’s  paintings  were  until  recently  owned 
by  various  members  of  the  imperial  family  and  the  nobility, 
the  majority  found  their  way  into  the  Tretyakov  Gallery, 
Moscow,  and  the  Alexander  III  Museum  in  Petrograd.  In  the 
low,  rambling  building  across  the  shining  Moskva  nearly  op- 
posite the  Kreml,  are  gathered  over  two  thousand  representa- 
tive examples  of  contemporary  Russian  art,  some  sixty  of  which, 
including  sketches  and  portraits,  being  by  Repin.  Such  works 
as  Tzarevna  Sophie  Confined  to  the  Novodevichi  Monastyr 


during  the  Execution  of  the  Streltzy,  The  Tzar  Ivan  the  Terrible 
and  his  Son  Ivan  Ivanovich,  Nicholas  the  Miracle- Worker, 
and  The  Cossacks’  Reply  to  the  Sultan  Mohammed  IV,  reveal 
Repin  at  his  best  as  an  historical  painter.  While  The  Tzarevna 
Sophie  is  scarcely  more  than  a tense  and  harrowing  study  in 
physiognomy,  Ivan  the  Terrible  and  his  Son  challenges  com- 
parison with  the  grim  Spaniards  on  their  own  ground.  Con- 
ceived with  a masterly  regard  for  the  dramatic  effect  of  the 
scene,  the  canvas  displays  a primitive  force  and  ferocity  equalled 
only  by  Ribera;  and  yet  the  picture  is  more  than  a mere  brutal 
and  sanguinary  episode.  It  conjures  up  as  nothing  in  art  has 
ever  done  that  dark  heritage,  those  brooding  centuries  of  bar- 
baric splendour  and  fierce  absolutism  which  form  the  background 
of  present-day  Russia. 

The  Cossacks’  Reply,  which  is  the  best  known  of  all  Repin’s 
works  abroad,  typifies  the  artist’s  effective  grouping,  his  robust 
almost  Flemish  opulence  of  colour,  and  his  characteristic  gift 
for  portraiture.  The  mocking  bravado  of  each  countenance 
tells  the  same  story  in  a different  way.  You  can  literally  hear 
the  derisive  laughter  of  these  liberty-loving  Zaporozhtzi  as  the 
regimental  scribe  pens  their  defiant  answer  while  they  gather 
about  the  rude,  card-strewn  table.  Like  Gogol  before  him, 
Repin  has  here  rolled  back  a few  hundred  years.  We  are  again 
in  the  days  of  Taras  Bulba  and  his  pirates  of  the  steppe,  that 
vast  and  stormy  inland  sea  over  which  used  to  roam  Kazak  and 
Pole,  Tatar  and  Turk. 

Yet  all  the  while  he  was  steeped  in  the  past,  Repin  did  not 
lose  contact  with  the  interests  and  issues  of  his  own  day  and 
generation.  Side  by  side  with  the  painter  of  history  worked 


the  chronicler  of  contemporary  life  and  scene.  The  Russo- 
Turkish  war  of  1877-78  furnished  him  with  several  themes,  and 
in  what  is  known  as  his  nihilist  cycle,  comprising  The  Conspira- 
tors, The  Arrest,  and  The  Unexpected  Return,  he  portrayed 
with  penetrating  truth  and  intensity  that  smouldering  social 
volcano  which  has  been  responsible  for  so  many  decades  of 
heroism  and  heart-break.  Among  the  works  of  this  period  are 
two  that  merit  special  consideration — Vechernitzi,  or,  as  it  is 
popularly  called,  Russian  Village  Dancers,  and  the  Religious 
Procession  in  the  Government  of  Kursk,  which  was  later  sup- 
plemented by  a somewhat  similar  Procession.  Nowhere  does 
Repin’s  Little  Russian  origin  betray  itself  more  sympatheti- 
cally than  in  his  picturing  of  these  simple-hearted  merrymakers 
who  gather  at  a humble  traldir  to  pass  the  night  before  their 
wedding  dancing  to  the  tune  of  violin,  pipe,  and  balalaika.  In 
the  Procession,  with  its  struggling,  seething  mass  of  humanity 
— its  obese,  gold-robed  priests,  benighted  peasants,  wretched 
beggars  and  cripples,  cruel-mouthed  officials,  and  inflated  rural 
dignitaries,  Repin  seems  to  have  offered  us  a pictorial  synthesis 
of  Russia.  While  a scene  one  might  witness  any  day  on  the 
dust-laden  highways  of  the  southern  districts,  the  picture  pos- 
sesses a deeper  significance.  In  essence  it  is  a condemnation, 
and,  like  the  Burlaki,  it  is  all  the  more  severe  because  clothed 
in  the  irrefragable  language  of  fact. 

Despite  the  duties  as  professor  at  the  Academy,  and  his 
numerous  commissions  for  portraits,  Repin  continued  to  pro- 
duce those  larger  compositions  for  which  he  is  chiefly  known 
abroad.  The  Duel,  which  was  awarded  the  medal  of  honour 
at  the  Venice  Exposition  of  1897,  Follow  Me,  Satan,  What 


Boundless  Space,  and  the  more  recent  Black  Sea  Pirates  are 
among  the  most  important  of  his  later  works.  Granting  the 
popular  success  of  this  particular  phase  of  his  production,  not 
a few  of  his  countrymen  nevertheless  claim  that  his  portraits 
represent  a higher  level  of  attainment.  Like  Watts  and  like 
Lenbach,  Repin  has  painted  a veritable  national  portrait  gallery 
of  the  leading  figures  of  his  time.  One  after  another  they  gaze 
out  of  these  canvases  with  convincing  power  and  verity.  Here  is 
Tolstoy,  there  Pisemsky,  Musorgsky,  Surikov,  Glinka,  Ruben- 
stein,  and  scores  of  statesmen,  authors,  generals,  scientists, 
and  musicians. 

Face  to  face  with  his  subject,  Repin,  at  his  best,  is  a vigorous, 
ready  craftsman,  jealous  of  essentials  and  indifferent  to  all  that 
does  not  directly  contribute  to  the  individuality  of  the  sitter. 
The  accessories  are  always  simple  and  thoroughly  in  character, 
and  nowhere  has  he  succeeded  better  than  in  his  likenesses  of 
the  prophet  of  Yasnaya  Polyana,  whose  troubled  features  he 
has  limned  numerous  times — behind  the  plough,  seated  at  his 
rude  writing  table,  or  strolling  forth  as  a typical  muzhik  bare- 
headed and  clad  in  rough  peasant  smock.  And  not  only  has 
Repin  sketched,  painted,  and  modelled  Tolstoy,  he  has  also 
illustrated  a number  of  his  books.  Their  friendship,  like  that 
between  Bismarck  and  Lenbach,  extended  over  many  years, 
growing  even  closer  as  the  time  of  parting  drew  nigh. 

Throughout  his  stormy,  militant  career  Repin,  like  Tolstoy, 
has  remained  temperamentally  a rebel  and  a fighter,  an  enemy, 
by  implication  at  least,  of  Church  and  State.  The  social  and 
political  as  well  as  the  purely  artistic  influence  of  his  production 
has  been  immense.  On  various  occasions  he  has  approached 


the  danger  line  of  audacity,  but  always,  instead  of  officially 
disciplining  the  artist,  the  offending  painting  has  been  purchased 
for  their  private  edification  by  the  tzar  or  some  discretionary 
grand  duke.  So  open  has  at  times  been  the  popular  approval 
of  some  of  his  franker,  more  radical  works,  that  they  have  actu- 
ally been  removed  from  public  gaze  within  a few  hours  after 
being  placed  on  exhibition.  At  the  bare  feet  of  Tolstoy,  when 
the  celebrated  full-length  standing  likeness  of  him  was  first 
shown,  were  daily  deposited  so  many  floral  tributes  that  the 
solicitous  authorities  were  impelled  temporarily  to  sequester 
the  portrait. 

While  possessing  an  ample  measure  of  reconstructive  imagi- 
nation, and  a notably  sound  and  convincing  historical  sense, 
Repin  is  one  of  those  instinctive  realists  who  are  at  their  best 
when  face  to  face  with  the  living  model.  Rarely  does  he  wander 
from  the  realm  of  definite,  specific  observation.  The  stricken, 
tortured  countenance  of  Ivan  the  Terrible’s  dying  son  is  virtu- 
ally a portrait  of  poor,  distraught  Garshin  in  the  final  stages 
of  insanity  and  impending  suicide.  The  confused,  haunted 
expression  on  the  face  of  the  exile  in  The  Unexpected  Return 
was  suggested  to  the  painter  by  the  appearance  of  Dostoyevsky 
when  he  first  came  home  after  his  Siberian  immolation.  The 
work  of  Repin,  like  that  of  his  fellow  toilers  in  the  field  of  letters 
as  well  as  art,  takes  its  point  of  departure  from  the  facts  of  every- 
day existence.  For  them  life  as  it  seethed  about  them  in  its 
perennial  power  and  complexity  was  all  sufficient. 

The  story  of  Repin’s  career  and  achievement  is  the  story  of 
Russia  during  the  period  intervening  between  the  Russo-Turkish 
war  and  the  war  with  Japan.  On  his  canvases  gleams  the  his- 


lory  of  his  country  with  all  its  possibilities,  all  its  eager,  baffled 
effort  and  sullen,  misdirected  power.  His  series  of  portraits 
constitutes  a pantheon  of  Russia’s  leading  spirits.  His  natural- 
istic and  historical  compositions  reflect  with  consummate 
graphic  resource  a troubled  present  and  a sumptuous,  barbaric 
past.  It  is  to  Russia,  and  Russia  alone,  that  he  has  consecrated 
the  passionate  fervour  of  his  vision  and  the  vigorous  surety 
of  his  hand.  And  these  gifts  he  dedicated  not  to  the  narrow 
province  of  aesthetics  but  to  a broader,  more  beneficent  appeal. 
At  first,  as  in  the  Burlaki,  his  message  seemed  repellent  in  its 
unflinching  verity,  but  gradually  the  stern  accuser  displayed 
more  sympathy  and  forbearance.  Though  he  seems  to  stand 
apart  from  his  fellows,  a solitary,  taciturn  figure,  Ilya  Repin 
belongs  to  that  great  succession  of  academic  realists  at  whose 
head  remained  for  so  long  the  diminutive  yet  masterful  Adolf 
von  Menzel.  Once  the  essential  facts  are  at  his  command, 
Repin  groups  them  with  due  regard  for  scenic  effect.  He  com- 
poses as  well  as  observes.  His  art  is  both  portraiture  and  pano- 
rama. 

The  rigorous  realistic  and  nationalistic  tradition  represented 
alike  by  Repin  in  painting  and  by  his  contemporaries  in  music 
and  letters  is  the  specific  legacy  of  their  day  and  generation. 
Solidly  grounded  in  the  positivist  philosophy  of  Bielinsky, 
Chernyshevsky,  and  Pisarev,  contemptuous  of  aesthetics,  and 
the  effete  passions  of  those  who  were  called  “the  superfluous 
ones,”  this  art  does  not  address  itself  primarily  to  the  imagina- 
tion. It  is  in  no  sense  a product  of  fancy;  it  is  rather  a convinc- 
ing transcription  of  outward  and  visible  fact.  When  Repin 
came  to  the  capital  in  the  early  sixties  of  the  last  century  the 


Byronic  fervour  of  Pushkin  and  the  eloquent  heart-hunger  of 
Lermontov  had  been  brusquely  swept  aside  by  the  so-called 
humanitarians  and  utilitarians.  Freed  from  classic  and  mytho- 
logical pretence,  the  artists  of  the  day  set  about  the  task  of 
evolving  what  they  considered  a characteristically  national 
pictorial  expression,  and  this  they  did  with  all  the  resources 
of  pen  and  brush,  for  they  were  polemists  as  well  as  painters. 

In  its  every  accent  the  artistic  legacy  of  Ilya  Repin  typifies 
the  man’s  own  particular  age  and  epoch.  It  definitely  incar- 
nates the  sigmirn  temporis,  the  spirit  of  the  time,  in  the  same 
manner  as  does  the  fiction  of  Dostoyevsky  and  Tolstoy,  and  the 
music  of  Glinka,  Musorgsky,  and  Borodin.  Like  their  brethren 
in  letters  and  music,  Repin  and  his  colleagues  of  the  Perednizh- 
niki  fought  a bitter  and  victorious  battle  in  the  cause  of  nation- 
alism. And  yet,  however  formidable  their  achievement  un- 
deniably was,  it  proved  by  no  means  the  final  phase  of  Russian 
pictorial  activity.  The  realistic  nationalism  so  dear  to  this 
heroic  group  has  in  due  course  been  superseded  by  a decorative 
and  idealistic  nationalism  which  is  equally  legitimate  and 
equally  logical.  The  elder  men.  long  kept  away  from  whole- 
some, objective  reality,  were  content  with  the  realm  of  fact. 
Their  successors  have  striven  to  capture  the  sumptuous  and 
radiant  kingdom  of  creative  fancy. 

At  his  summer  residence  at  Kuokkola  in  Finland,  situated  but 
a scant  two  hours  from  the  capital,  or  in  his  spacious,  workman- 
like quarters  in  the  upper  storey  at  the  Academy,  before  the 
doors  of  which  he  once  paused  an  unknown,  aspiring  provincial, 
Ilya  Repin  passed  the  most  fruitful  period  of  his  career.  His 
prestige  as  a teacher  was  immense,  and  his  classes  were  always 


crowded  to  capacity.  Among  the  most  prominent  of  his  pupils 
were  Bilibin,  Braz,  Fechin,  Koustodiev,  Maliavin,  Serov,  and 
three  younger  men  who  are  at  present  in  America,  Djenyev,  Levitt, 
and  Perelmann.  Each  and  all  they  recall  him  with  reverence 
and  affection,  for  their  austere,  laconic  preceptor  was  by  no 
means  devoid  of  humour  and  humanity.  He  used  to  be  fond  of 
entertaining  certain  of  the  more  promising  students  at  his  home, 
but,  with  the  increasing  toll  of  time,  and  the  catastrophe  that 
has  overtaken  his  troubled  yet  aspiring  country,  Repin  has 
become  an  isolated  figure,  almost,  in  fact,  the  sole  living  sur- 
vivor of  an  older  order. 

The  past  decade,  which  marks  the  final  phase  of  Repin’s 
artistic  activity,  has  been  replete  with  contrast.  Beginning 
with  the  brilliant  success  of  his  imposing  collective  display  in  the 
picturesque  Russian  Pavilion  at  the  Esposizione  Internazionale 
of  Rome  in  1911,  it  is  closing  in  darkness  and  distress.  The 
Roman  exhibition  comprised  the  most  comprehensive  assembly 
of  his  work  ever  seen  outside  of  Russia.  There  were  in  all  sixty- 
two  numbers,  consisting  mainly  of  portraits,  drawings,  and 
water  colours.  And  it  may  be  added  that  the  production  of 
the  sturdy,  fecund  sexagenarian  held  its  own  beside  the  work  of 
many  a younger  man,  not  forgetting  his  former  pupils  Serov  and 
Maliavin,  who  on  this  occasion  shared  honours  with  their  master. 

Although,  during  these  stressful,  progressive  years,  he  could 
not  fail  to  note  that  the  complexion  of  art  was  rapidly  changing, 
the  austere  painter  of  The  Cossacks’  Reply  and  its  pendant, 
The  Black  Sea  Pirates,  refused  to  make  any  sort  of  compromise 
with  what  is  called  modernism.  He  remained  resolutely  him- 
self. The  shimmering  radiance  of  impressionism  broke  unre- 


garded  about  him,  and  as  for  certain  more  recent  manifesta- 
tions of  artistic  activity,  they  are  as  anathema  to  the  truculent 
Cossack.  So  stoutly  does  he  defend  himself  against  what  he 
deems  the  pernicious  heresies  of  the  later  men  that  when,  in 
1913,  his  Ivan  the  Terrible  and  his  Son  was  wantonly  slashed 
by  a young  lunatic  in  the  Tretyakov  Gallery,  he  took  occasion 
to  avow  that  he  considered  the  act  to  have  been  prompted  by 
a hatred  of  the  older  art,  a desire  to  destroy  former  canons  of 
taste  and  set  up  new,  and  frankly  revolutionary  standards. 

Shocked  beyond  measure  by  the  damage  done  his  painting, 
he  could  scarcely  believe  that  the  deed  was  the  work  of  a sporadic 
individual  impulse,  but  took  it  as  a symbol  of  the  general  artistic 
and  social  unrest  of  the  day.  “Who  knows,”  he  passionately 
exclaimed,  “but  that  this  affair  may  be  the  result  of  that  mon- 
strous conspiracy  against  the  classic  and  academic  monuments 
of  art  which  is  daily  gathering  momentum  under  the  influence 
of  endless  debates  and  disputes  regarding  the  newer  tendencies. 
These  people  are  actually  advocating  the  destruction  of  the 
cherished  masterpieces  of  the  past.  They  are  seeking  in  all 
manner  of  ways  to  achieve  their  ends.  They  wish  to  break  into 
the  temple  of  art  and  hang  there  their  own  abominations,  but 
I say  they  are  creatures  without  reverence  or  religion,  without 
a God,  and  without  a shred  of  conscience  in  their  souls!” 

The  wanton  act  of  poor  frenzied  Balashov  had,  however, 
no  aesthetic  import.  Its  prompting  lay  deeper  than  any  artistic 
considerations,  for  in  its  own  isolated,  spasmodic  fashion  it  fore- 
shadowed events  of  a far  wider  significance.  And  it  is  these 
events,  coming  with  fateful  swiftness,  that  have  so  overcast  the 
last  years  of  the  painter’s  life. 


The  great  protagonists  of  his  partieular  epoch  have  all  gone 
before  him.  Antokolsky,  once  his  roommate  during  their  ob- 
scure student  days,  and  later  his  rival  in  fame  and  popularity, 
the  veteran  critic  Stasov,  his  life-long  friend  and  champion,  his 
favourite  pupil  Serov,  upon  whom  the  master’s  mantle  seemed 
destined  to  fall — each  has  preceded  the  sturdy,  tenacious  Cossack 
along  the  pathway  that  must  shortly  claim  him.  And,  seated 
in  his  spacious  studio — once  the  mecca  of  the  intelligentsia  of  an 
entire  nation — grey,  shaggy,  and  virtually  alone,  he  seems  almost 
like  a soul  at  bay.  For  the  vital  spark  that  sustained  him 
throughout  years  of  effort  and  accomplishment,  and  countless 
bitter  struggles  both  professional  and  domestic,  is  wellnigh  ex- 
tinguished. 

With  the  same  courage  as  before,  Repin,  despite  his  age,  has 
none  the  less  endeavoured  to  adjust  himself  to  the  fast-changing 
conditions  about  him.  Passionately  devoted  as  ever  to  the 
actual  and  the  visible,  he  has  pictured  for  us  a sharp,  poignant 
struggle  in  front  of  the  Winter  Palace,  with  the  snow  dyed 
crimson,  as  was  the  floor  in  the  Granovitaya  Palata  when  Ivan 
ruthlessly  struck  down  his  pleading  son.  He  has  also  painted 
the  since  deposed  leader,  but  then  idol  of  the  Russian  masses, 
Kerensky,  seated  in  the  library  of  the  tzar’s  palace.  Numerous 
distinguished  visitors  have  also  come  to  see  and  pose  for  him  at 
Penati,  his  country  home  at  Kuokkola,  which  is  now,  alas, 
stripped  of  many  of  its  former  treasures.  The  few  fitful  years, 
or  months,  that  remain  to  him  are  in  fact  filled  with  struggle 
and  bitterness — tinged,  as  his  devoted  Vladimir  Vasilyevich 
would  say — -with  black  and  Repin  red. 


CATALOGUE 


PAINTINGS 


1  THE  COSSACKS’  REPLY  TO  THE  SULTAN 

A variant  upon  the  artist's  most  celebrated  painting,  other  and 
slightly  different  versions  of  which  are  to  be  found  in  Petrograd 
and  AIoscow,  the  earliest  being  dated  1890-2.  The  scene  depicts 
the  Kazaks’  regimental  scribe  penning  a defiant  answer  to  the  Sul- 
tan Mohammed  IV,  who  had  demanded  the  surrender  of  Hetman 
Syerko’s  turbulent  band  in  1680.  Repin  made  a hundred  or  more 
different  sketches  for  this  composition,  his  work  on  the  three  can- 
vases extending  over  a period  of  some  ten  years. 


2  THE  BLACK  SEA  PIRATES 

Similar  in  character,  and  in  a sense  a pendant  to  the  preceding 
picture.  The  Zaporozhtzi,  who  had  established  themselves  on  the 
Island  of  Setch,  below  Kiev,  were  in  the  habit  of  descending  the 
Dnyepr  in  light  barks  to  the  Black  Sea,  and  preying  on  the  coast 
towns  of  the  hated  Mussulmans.  Painted  in  Petrograd,  1897. 
Exhibited,  Paris,  1897.  Size  141  X 101.  Canvas.  Signed,  lower 
left:  II.  Repin.  Not  dated. 


3 BLACK  SEA  PIRATE  TYPE  (I) 

Study  for  The  Black  Sea  Pirates.  Painted  in  Petrograd.  Exhibit- 
ed, Liljewalch’s  Konsthall,  Stockholm,  1919.  Size  37 X 28. 
Canvas.  Unsigned. 

4 BLACK  SEA  PIRATE  TYPE  (II) 

Study  for  The  Black  Sea  Pirates.  Painted  in  Petrograd.  Size 
25 K X 18.  Canvas.  Signed  and  dated,  upper  left:  II.  Repin 
1912. 


5  BLACK  SEA  PIRATE  TYPE  (III) 

Study  for  The  Black  Sea  Pirates.  Painted  in  Petrograd.  Size 
2114  X 18.  Canvas.  Signed,  lower  right:  II.  Repin.  Not  dated. 


6 “NORTH” 

The  painter’s  favourite  dog,  named  “North”.  Seen  near  Kuokkola 
by  the  shore  along  the  Gulf  of  Finland.  Exhibited:  Petrograd: 
Esposizione  Internazionale,  Rome,  1911;  Stockholm,  1919.  Size 
39  X 49} 2-  Canvas.  Signed  and  dated,  lower  left:  I.  Repin  1908. 

7 THE  MODEL 

Repin  but  rarely  devoted  his  talents  to  depicting  the  nude. 
Painted  in  Petrograd,  1897.  Exhibited:  Petrograd,  1897;  Lilje- 
walch’s  Konsthall,  Stockholm,  1919.  Size  48 }/%  X 35.  Canvas. 
Signed  and  dated,  lower  left:  II.  Repin  1897. 

8 THE  ATTACK  WITH  THE  RED  CROSS  NURSE 

Similar  scenes  have  occurred  more  than  once  in  Petrograd  during 
the  recent  upheavals.  Painted  in  Petrograd.  Exhibited:  Petro- 
grad, 1917;  Liljewalch’s  Konsthall,  Stockholm,  1919.  Size  49 34 
X 98N-  Canvas.  Signed  and  dated,  lower  left:  II.  Repin  1917. 

9 THE  BLIND  BANDURA  PLAYER 

Not  unlike  certain  of  the  Black  Sea  Pirate  types  as  seen  in  the 
larger  composition.  Painted  in  Petrograd.  Exhibited:  Petrograd; 
Liljewalch’s  Konsthall,  Stockholm,  1919.  Size  43 1 2 X 30 3Y 
Canvas.  Signed  and  dated,  lower  left;  II.  Repin  1918. 


PORTRAITS 

10  PROFESSOR  A.  P.  BIELOPOLSKY 

Distinguished  mathematician,  physicist,  and  astronomer.  Mem- 
ber of  the  Imperial  Academy  of  Petrograd.  Director  of  the  Pol- 
tava Observatory . Painted  in  1884.  Exhibited:  Petrograd;  Paris; 
Liljewalch’s  Konsthall,  Stockholm,  1919.  Size  23 H X 19.  Can- 
vas. Signed  and  dated,  lower  left:  I.  Repin  1884. 

11  PROFESSOR  N.  I.  KAREYEY 

Professor  of  History  in  the  Imperial  University  of  Petrograd. 
Member  of  the  Imperial  Academy,  Petrograd.  Member  of  the 
Duma,  1914.  Noted  as  an  orator  and  public  speaker.  Painted  in 
Petrograd,  1908.  Size  36}^  X 30.  Canvas.  Signed  and  dated, 
lower  left:  I.  Repin  1908. 


12  THE  FUTURIST 

Painted  in  Petrograd,  1916.  Exhibited:  Petrograd;  also  Lilje- 
walch’s  Konsthall,  Stockholm,  1919.  Size  36  X 24 JV  Canvas. 
Signed  and  dated,  lower  right:  I.  Repin  1916. 


13  COUNT  L.  N.  TOLSTOY 

One  of  Repin's  numerous  characteristic  likenesses  of  the  great 
novelist  and  social  reformer.  The  painting  recalls  the  celebrated 
full-length  portrait  in  the  Alexander  III  Museum,  Petrograd. 
Painted  at  Yasnaya  Polyana,  Tolstoy’s  country  estate  in  the 
Government  of  Tula.  Exhibited:  Petrograd;  also  Liljewalch’s 
Konsthall,  Stockholm,  1919.  Size  45}  2 X 33.  Canvas.  Signed 
and  postdated,  lower  left:  I.  Repin  1916. 


14  SELF-PORTRAIT  OF  THE  ARTIST 

He  wears  a beret,  wide  white  collar,  and  brown  jacket,  and  holds 
a mahlstick  in  his  right  hand.  The  artist’s  first  self-portrait  is 
dated  1866,  the  same  year  he  painted  his  life-long  friend,  the 
sculptor  Antokolsky,  when  they  were  fellow-students.  Painted  in 
the  artist’s  studio  at  Kuokkola,  Finland,  1917.  Size  21  X 30. 
Canvas.  Signed  and  dated,  lower  left:  II.  Repin  1917. 


15  ALEXANDER  FYODOROVICH  KERENSKY 

First  Minister  of  Justice,  and  subsequently  Prime  Minister  and 
Minister  of  War  and  Navy  of  the  Provisional  Government  of 
Russia,  1917.  This  portrait  was  painted  at  the  request  of  a com- 
mittee of  the  Premier’s  admirers,  in  the  library  of  the  Winter 
Palace,  August,  1917.  Size  45  X 33.  Canvas.  Signed  and 
dated  lower  left:  I.  Repin  1917. 


16  THE  ARTIST’S  SON,  YURI  REPIN 

The  only  son  of  the  painter,  wearing  fur  coat,  and  in  appearance 
somewhat  suggesting  Peter  the  Great  as  a young  man.  Yuri 
Repin  was  also  an  artist,  devoting  his  talents  mainly  to  por- 
traiture and  landscape.  Painted  in  the  studio  at  Kuokkola, 
Finland,  1919.  Exhibited,  Liljewalch’s  Konsthall,  Stockholm, 
1919.  Size  31}2  X 25.  Canvas.  Signed  and  dated,  lower  left: 
II.  Repin  1919. 


PORTRAIT  DRAWINGS 


17  BARONESS  DE  PALLENBERG 

Drawn  in  1915.  Exhibited:  Stockholm,  1919.  Size  30H  X 23. 
Paper.  Signed  and  dated,  lower  centre:  II.  Repin  1915. 


IS  I.  I.  Y AS  INSKY 

Journalist,  author,  and  art  critic.  Drawn  in  1915.  Exhibited: 
Stockholm,  1919.  Size  3012  X 24.  Paper.  Signed  and  dated, 
lower  centre:  II.  Repin  1915. 


19  MADAME  G.  ANNENKOVA 

The  well-known  authoress.  Drawn  in  Ivuokkola,  Finland,  1916. 
Exhibited:  Stockholm,  1919.  Size  30  X 20.  Paper,  Signed  and 
dated,  lower  right:  II.  Repin  1916. 


20  MADAME  N.  V.  GRUSHKO 

Drawn  in  1916.  Exhibited:  Stockholm,  1919.  Size  30  X 21 
Paper.  Signed  and  dated,  lower  left:  II.  Repin  1916. 


21  STEPAN  PETROVICH  KRACHKOVSKY 

A former  officer,  who  was  killed  in  1916.  Krachkovsky  left  his 
notable  art  collection  to  the  Museum  of  the  Society  for  the  En- 
couragement of  Art  in  Petrograd.  Drawn  in  1916.  Size  29  pz  X 22. 
Paper.  Signed  and  dated,  lower  right:  II.  Repin  1916. 


22  MADAME  TEFFI 

Prominent  contemporary  humoristic  writer,  now  living  in  Paris. 
Drawn  in  1916.  Exhibited:  Stockholm,  1919.  Size  28 X 20. 
Paper.  Signed  and  dated,  lower  left:  II.  Repin  1916. 


PORTRAIT  SKETCHES 


The  following  series  of  sketches  were  made  at  Kuokkola,  the  artist’s 
studio  and  summer  home  in  Finland  during  the  years  1906,  ’07,  '08,  and 
’09  and  were  collectively  shown  at  the  Esposizione  Internazionale,  Rome, 
1911,  and  Liljcwalch's  Konsthall,  Stockholm,  1919.  They  are  all  signed, 
and  many  of  them  are  interestingly  autographed  by  the  sitters. 

23  P.  P.  GNEDICH 

Well-known  novelist,  dramatist,  and  authority  on  the  history  of 
art.  Size  16  X 1332-  Board.  Signed  and  dated,  lower  right: 
I.  Repin  1906. 

24  COUNTESS  V.  P.  KANKRINA 

Size  16  X 13U-  Board.  Signed,  lower  left:  I.  Repin.  Auto- 
graphed and  dated,  1906. 

25  L.  A.  SAKKETTI 

Professor  of  aesthetics  in  the  University  of  Petrograd,  and  Libra- 
rian in  the  Imperial  Library,  Petrograd.  Size  16  X 1 3 4a - Board. 
Signed,  lower  left:  I.  Repin.  Autographed  and  dated,  1906. 

26  VLADIMIR  VASILYEVICH  STASOV 

The  foremost  art  critic  of  the  older  school  in  Russia.  Implacable 
enemy  of  Benois,  Diaghilev,  and  the  modernist  decorative  talents. 
For  many  years  Librarian  of  the  Imperial  Library,  Petrograd. 
Life-long  friend  of  the  artist.  Size  16  X 13H-  Board.  Signed 
and  dated,  lower  left:  I.  Repin  1906,  24  July.  Piquant  and  char- 
acteristic autograph  dedication. 

27  COUNT  IVAN  TOLSTOY 

Late  vice-president  of  the  Imperial  Academy  of  Fine  Arts,  Petro- 
grad. Minister  of  Education,  1906.  Size  16  X 13H-  Board. 
Signed  and  dated,  lower  centre:  I.  Repin  1906,  26  August. 

28  N.  A.  MOROZOV 

Former  socialist  and  revolutionary.  Confined  for  twenty  years 
in  Schlusselburg.  Authority  on  political  and  economic  questions. 
Size  16  X 13H-  Board.  Signed  and  dated,  lower  right:  I. 
Repin  1 November  1906  “Penati.” 


29  N.  D.  YERMAKOY 

Prominent  Petrograd  art  collector  and  patron  of  art.  Size 
16  X 13 Board.  Signed  and  dated,  lower  right:  I.  Repin 

1906,  29  November. 

30  BORIS  LAZAREVSKY 

Author.  Size  16  X 13pb  Board.  Signed  and  dated,  lower 
left:  I.  Repin  1906. 

31  MADAME  E.  A.  NERATOVA 

Drawn  in  1906.  Size  16  X 13JT  Board.  Signed  and  dated, 
lower  left:  I.  Repin  1906. 

32  S.  P.  KRACHKOVSKY 

Drawn  in  1907.  Size  16  X 13}^.  Board.  Signed  and  dated, 
lower  right:  I.  Repin  1907,  20  April. 

33  COUNT  L.  L.  TOLSTOY 

Son  of  Count  L.  N.  Tolstoy.  Author,  lecturer.  Size  16  X 13Lb 
Board.  Signed  and  dated,  right  centre:  I.  Repin  1907,  30  June. 

34  V.  P.  STATZENKO 

Size  16  X 13^2-  Board.  Signed  and  dated,  lower  left:  I.  Repin 

1907,  17  October. 

35  A.  A.  NORDMAN 

Author,  short  story  writer.  Size  16  X 13R>-  Board.  Signed, 
lower  right:  I.  Repin;  dated,  lower  left,  1907. 

36  MADAME  T.  V.  PORADOVSKAYA 

Size  16  X 13 Lb  Board.  Signed  and  dated,  lower  right:  I. 
Repin  1907. 

37  MADAME  ARBUZOVA 

Size  16  X 13i 2-  Board.  Signed,  lower  right:  I.  Repin;  dated, 
lower  left,  1908. 


38  Y.  F.  ZIONGLINSKY 

Landscape  painter.  Professor  in  the  Imperial  Academy  of  Fine 
Arts,  Petrograd,  and  the  School  for  the  Encouragement  of  Fine 
Arts  in  Russia.  Size  16  X 133Y  Board.  Signed  and  dated, 
lower  left:  I.  Repin  1908. 

39  MADAME  K.  I.  RAYEVSKAYA 

Size  16  X 133 Y Board.  Signed  and  dated,  lower  right:  II. 
Repin  1909. 

40  E.  N.  CHIRIKOV 

The  well-known  story  writer  and  dramatist.  Author  of  The 
Chosen  People,  which  was  successfully  presented  here  by  the 
Russian  dramatic  company  headed  by  Orlenev  and  Nazimova. 
Size  16  X 133Y  Board.  Signed,  lower  centre:  I.  Repin.  Not 
dated. 

41  A.  I.  SVIRSKY 

Size  16  X 133Y  Board.  Signed,  lower  centre:  I.  Repin.  Not 
dated. 


SCULPTURE 

42  MADAME  TARKHANOVA  (Bronze) 

Repin  was  notably  fond  of  sculpture,  having  acquired  a liking  for 
plastic  expression  through  his  early  student-day  association  with 
Antokolsky,  the  creator  of  the  unforgettable  statue  of  Mephis- 
topheles . At  different  periods  of  his  career,  he  modelled  considerably . 
In  the  studio  at  Penati,  one  used  to  see  several  interesting  heads 
and  bust  portraits  showing  no  little  vigour  and  facility.  Portrait 
head,  modelled  in  Kuokkola,  1915.  Exhibited:  Liljewalch’s 
Konsthall,  Stockholm,  1909.  Signed  and  dated,  II.  Repin  Kuok- 
kola 1915. 


ILLUSTRATIONS 


THE  COSSACKS’  REPLY  TO  THE  SULTAN 


THE  BLACK  SEA  PIRATES 


BLACK  SEA  PIRATE  TYPE  (I) 


■ 


s 


' 


BLACK  SEA  PIRATE  TYPE  (II) 


BLACK  SEA  PIRATE  TYPE  (III) 


THE  MODEL 


THE  ATTACK  WITH  THE  RED  CROSS  NURSE 


PROFESSOR  A.  P.  BIELOPOLSKY 


PROFESSOR  N.  I.  RARE  YE  V 


COUNT  L.  N.  TOLSTOY 


ALEXANDER  FYODOROVICH  KERENSKY 


SELF-PORTRAIT  OF  THE  ARTIST 


THE  ARTIST’S  SON,  YURI  REPIN 


. 


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P.  P.  GNEDICH 


C.L’W  Haft' 


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/«*  S-fif  $**&**>  ‘ 


E.  N.  CHIRIKOV 


VLADIMIR  VASILYEVICH  STASOV 


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PORTRAIT  SKETCH,  1906 


A.  I.  SVIRSKY 


V.  P.  STATZENKO 


MADAME  G.  ANNENKOVA 


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GETTY  CENTER  LIBRARY 


3 3125  00652  7002 


